Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19971214.htm

ACTS: THE LOCAL CHURCH AS GOD'S AGENCY FOR DISCIPLING MEN
Part XXII: TRUSTWORTHY Ways God Leads Us Via CIRCUMSTANTIAL Indicators
(Acts 10:1-48)
  1. Introduction
    1. Though Scripture and godly advisors are generally enough to expose God's will for us, for fear of being deceived by circumstances like many believers who are experience based, we may tend to suppress God's circumstantial and personal wish indicators to us and thereby actually misread His leading!
    2. God used a number of circumstantial indicators in leading both Cornelius and Peter to meet with one another. We study the events of Acts 10 to discern the ways God leads us by way of circumstances:
  2. TRUSTWORTHY Ways God Leads Us Via CIRCUMSTANTIAL Indicators, Acts 10:1-48.
    1. Indicator One - God uses circumstances in leading those who are practicing true godliness:
      1. Cornelius devoutly believed in God, Acts 10:2. Thus, God led him via a vision in connection to this godliness, the angel saying that God recognized his works and wanted to advance him further , 10:3-4.
      2. The Apostle Peter was also led of God in the context of being a dedicated believer: though Jews generally prayed during the times of the morning and evening temple sacrifices, Peter prayed at noon, something only godly Old Testament saints did, Acts 10:9-11, B.K.C., N.T., p. 380.
    2. Indicator Two - God uses circumstances to supply spiritually necessary answers to the godly:
      1. The angel's word to Cornelius that Peter would tell him what to do implies that Cornelius had reached a perplexing point in his pilgrimage, Morgan, Acts, p. 269. That his vision led to Cornelius' being given the Gospel and its resulting blessings shows that God wanted him to advance with this truth, 10:44-45.
      2. In Peter's case, he had doubts about his vision, so the Lord circumstantially had to remove those doubts so as not to wound Peter's conscience through having him meet Cornelius' messengers, Acts 10:17-20.
    3. Indicator Three - God often uses high coincidences to signal His circumstantial leadings to us as follows:
      1. God predictably may unite times of worship or devotions with His added insight, Acts 10:3, 9; 13:1-3.
      2. God may signal His circumstantial leading by interpersonal interaction between godly parties: God timed the angel's sending to Cornelius the day before Peter's trance so as to get his messengers to Peter's abode right as Peter had finished his trance the following noon, Acts 10:3, 9a, 19-21.
      3. God may signal His circumstantial leading via coincidental events: as Peter doubted his vision, the Holy Spirit indicated that Cornelius' men were right then to meet him to clarify the issue, 10:17, 19-22.
      4. God may signal His circumstantial leading via coincidental repetition: Christ's use of three questions to Peter in Jn. 21:15-17, correcting his initial threefold denial failure (Jn. 13:38) is connected to the threefold repetition of this Acts 10 vision (10:16) to signal that this correcting vision was from GOD!
      5. God may signal His circumstantial leading with instructional content coincidences:
        1. In Acts 10:17-20, Peter knew he should no longer call something unclean, but didn't know what!
        2. When Cornelius explained his angelic revelation in Acts 10:28-35, Peter then understood that just what God wanted him no longer to call unclean were believing Gentiles!
        3. Thus, the pooling of Cornelius' insight with Peter's led to the revelation God had for him!
Lesson: We need not fear that we are errantly experientially BASED by being open to circumstances for God's leading PROVIDING (1) we practice Scripture's godliness. (2) Besides, we may need answers to questions that still perplex us though we k now Scripture (Cornelius) or guidance at a level of insight we haven't yet grasped from Scripture (Peter), and God may want to use circumstantial evidence to clarify this insight to us. The (3) WAYS we can expect God to signal us circumstantially when these conditions exist include (a) His predicatbly bringing new insight to us at times of worship or personal devotions, (b) His coinciding our experiences with those of other reputable believers, (c) His using coincidental events of various sorts to signal His leading or (d) total or partial combinations of all of the above. (4) Yet, recall that God's circumstantial indicators will ALWAYS agree with Biblical truth if they ARE of GOD, cf. Rom. 12:6b; Dt. 13:1-4!